The Best Friend
by WoNdY Alice
Summary: Robbie wants to date Cat. When he overhears a girl saying an ideal boyfriend would get along with her best friend, Robbie decides to hang out with Tori more. Problem? Tori isn't her best friend. It's Jade, who has become scarier since her breakup with Beck. Surprisingly there's so much more to her than people gave her credit for. Rade friendship. Bade romance. Cabbie romance.
1. Prologue

Alice: New story! Just to say it now, it's not Robbie x Jade romance.

Emily: They are just friends and will remain so throughout the whole thing.

Alice: So a bromance.

Emily: The romances are listed below.

Alice: Enjoy!

* * *

Title: The Best Friend

Summary: Robbie wants to date Cat. When he overhears a girl saying an ideal boyfriend would get along with her best friend, Robbie decides to hang out with Tori more. Problem? Tori isn't her best friend. It's Jade, who has become scarier since her breakup with Beck. Surprisingly there's so much more to her than people gave her credit for.

Pairings: Rade friendship. Bade and Cabbie romance. Minor, implied/pre-Tandre.

Takes place right after The Worst Couple.

* * *

**Prologue**

Whispers of Beck and Jade's breakup flooded the halls. The legendary couple finally shattered, just as many suspected they would. Granted, it took much longer than they thought it would. And yes, while they've broken up before, they never changed their relationship status on the Slap. That's how the school knew they were officially done. Girls cheered at Beck's new status, thinking he would finally start dating them. Robbie snorted when he heard the rumors. Of course all the girls assumed Beck broke up with Jade because he could "no longer put up with her". However, they didn't see the misery of the break up like Robbie, Cat, Tori, and Andre did. Trina was there too, but she was far too focused on Beck to care.

The only reason Beck and Jade clouded his mind was due to Cat. Ever since the red headed girl entered his life, he's been head over heels. Not only was she adorable but she was fun and energetic and positive. If Beck and Jade broke up, maybe that meant something? Maybe the world was telling him to go after Cat now before it was too late like it was for them. Nodding to himself, he tried thinking of ways to seriously ask out Cat. He's tried before. Oh, he has. Either she took it as a joke, or she just giggled and said no. Needless to say, it frustrated him.

"You hear about Beck and Jade?" a girl whispered. Robbie nearly groaned but bit his lip to quiet himself. He tried to stifle any outward signs of annoyance and focused on the class. While he always knew the two girls behind him loved to gossip, could they really think of no other topic? He's been hearing and thinking about that all day!

The second girl nodded. "Yeah! It's everywhere. They broke up but no one knows how. Beck refuses to tell us anything, and Jade is way too scary to ask!"

"At least Beck is free," the first girl, Melissa Robbie thinks her name is, stated. "I've been so in love with him for a long time! He's so nice too."

"He is perfect," the second girl, Amy, agreed. "I mean, he's good looking but not a jerk. He's smart but not too much of a nerd. Not to mention, super nice and just amazing. He put up with that _witch_ for so long which just shows he's patient towards a girl even when they make mistakes. I'll bet he'd get along with my best friend too."

"Oh of course!" Melissa nodded in agreement. "I used to have this boyfriend who didn't get along with my best friend. It's, like, bros before hoes! I dumped him."

"Good for you!" The girls continued to giggle away. Robbie, on the other hand, gasped. Of course! That was how he could win over Cat's affections. He's seen the movies where the best friend sets up a boy and girl together. All he had to do was get close to Cat's best friend! Since that best friend was obviously Tori, he didn't have to try all that hard since they already talked and hung out. All Robbie needed to do was spend a bit more time with her, and perhaps Cat would finally say yes to his advances! He beamed, silently thanking the girls in his head.

* * *

Zipping past other Hollywood Arts students, Robbie's eyes landed on the empty seat in which Tori normally chose. He plopped down on the chair right next to it and smirked, already thinking of excuses if Tori asked why he was sitting there. Slowly the room started to fill in with Sikowitz naturally being the last one to enter. Tori tilted her head slightly at the sight of Robbie sitting dangerously closer to her chair but thought nothing of it. "Okay!" Sikowitz clasped his hands together, scanning the room only to slightly frown. "Beck!"

The popular boy rolled his head towards the teacher, giving him an attitude filled glare that made Robbie flinch. It had been exactly two weeks since the breakup with Jade, and Beck's appearance and conduct started to subtly change. Of course, only the tight group of friends (Tori, Andre, Robbie, and Cat) noticed. His hair was a bit messier and his clothes started to look slightly sloppier. Along with his new small glares and signs of annoyance, these tiny gestures scared the group of friends. With the public eye, he hasn't changed a bit. "What?" his voice sounded pleasant but there was an underlying message of 'do not talk to me today'.

Needless to say, Robbie didn't blame him.

"Where's Jade?"

Beck scowled, a dark, ominous aura overtaking him. The whole class shuddered at the change, inching away if only subtly. "How should I know?"

"Very true." Sikowitz frowned, disapproval edging away at his expression. "Cat!"

The redheaded girl yelped, jumping up and flinching at being called on so suddenly. "Yes!"

"Where's Jade?"

Robbie frowned, glancing between Sikowitz and Cat. "How should she know?" Robbie accidentally blurted out.

"Because she's my best friend!" Cat beamed proudly, hands on her waist and back standing completely, unnaturally straight. Her whole posture beamed with pride at the notion of her best friend, but Robbie's only diminished with dread as the realization dawned on him. Everyone, excluding Beck, blinked in slight surprise at Cat's declaration. Well, Robbie didn't blame them. The two girls never looked overly comfortable together and talked only when it suited them. Though, there were videos on the slap of their sleepovers, but Jade always made excuses of why she needed to stay at Cat's house.

Maybe he should start paying closer attention to Cat's personal life. Was that why she rejected him so often? Because he thought he knew her when he was truly clueless? Sikowitz grumbled, "Yes, Cat, I know. Now why is one of my favorite students not in my class?"

Cat slumped back in her seat. "She's… at an appointment."

Sikowitz obviously did not believe that but let the topic go after one glance at Beck, who started ripping the seams out of his backpack. "Alright then. Let's do some acting exorcises!"

And, thus, the class continued as though nothing extraordinary just happened. As the teacher babbled on about some new techniques, Robbie remained glued in his seat, staring at the floor with overcoming fear. If Jade was Cat's best friend… did that mean he had to try and befriend her? She would slaughter him! Time and time again she's expressed a complete hatred, or _tolerance_ as she claimed during the breakup, for him. Why did Cat have to befriend her? Was it even worth it? Robbie sighed, throwing his face in his hands in frustration. Yes, it was worth it. Because Cat was the first girl he ever truly liked. Yes, he's suggested he liked Tori but never meant it. For a while, he convinced himself he loved Trina, but that was short lived. So, in order to have Cat love him, he needed to befriend the scariest girl he's ever met, who just went through a breakup that made her angrier.

Really, that was just his luck!

* * *

Alice: Did you guys see the Sam & Cat one hour special?

Emily: I was relieved when Cat was jealous because Sam stole Jade and not the other way around.

Alice: I love Cade friendship way too much to have Cam 2.0 take over (seriously, the dynamics between Sam and Cat, Jade and Cat, and Carly and Sam are really alike with minor differences).

Emily: Anyways, this will have a larger focus on the Bade and Rade friendship/romance than it will on Cabbie, so I am sorry about that.

Alice: That doesn't mean there will be no Cabbie. It just won't be as empathized as the other two.

Emily: Well, this is my first Victorious story since 10 Things, so what did you guys think?

Alice: Should I continue?

Emily: Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 1

Alice: New chapter. I was going to wait a little longer to update but there was such a strong support for this story that I had to update sooner.

Emily: I mean, wow. You guys are amazing! I wasn't suspecting that so many people would love the idea or read it, and I'm really happy you guys are.

Alice: So thank you so much! Here's the new chapter.

Emily: Enjoy!

Alice: And to answer some questions, Cat will get jealous in this story as will Beck.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

It took a while for Robbie to actually find the Goth girl, and he flinched the moment he did. Sitting alone in the corner table, Jade was furiously ripping apart an innocent napkin with her evil scissors. Gulping and chanting in his head that this was for Cat, he strode over towards her lunch table with attempted ease. He could literally feel the questioning stares burn into his back but didn't turn around to face Beck, Cat, Andre, and Tori. This was, after all, a sacred mission. Besides Cat might see the fear in his eyes if he did look back. "Jade!" his voice was slightly wavering. "Can I sit with you?"

Threateningly slow, Jade turned her head to him with fierce, cold eyes that almost made him soil himself. Her hand clutched her scissors tightly, to the point where her knuckles turned even whiter. As she glared at him, her upper lip curled in an animalistic snarl. Robbie gulped again. "I-I'll take that as a yes?"

Oh God, why did he decide to do this in public? And in front of Cat? At least if he talked to her in private no one would see him run away. Another slither of him wished he brought Rex into school today and let him do the talking through the puppet. That normally calmed his nerves in social situations. Glancing back, and wondering if it was too late to dash out of there, his eyes caught a glimpse of Cat's adorable, confused expression. New determination seeped through his veins, and before Jade could yell at him, Robbie threw himself into the seat next to her. "You're dead," she hissed.

Robbie outwardly ignored her statement and bit into his sandwich. On the inside, he was trembling with what could only be described as terror. "Um… there's this movie Saturday night called _Wicked Ways_ a-about a technological apocalypse. I was thinking we could see it together? Me for the technological and you for the apocalypse?" Robbie's stammering did not help the situation. Neither did what he said, apparently. At the mention of Saturday night, Jade's eyes flared with newfound fury and her hand suddenly gripped his wrist, squeezing and making him cry out.

"You're disgusting," she snarled and tightened her grip just for extra measure. When Robbie let out his second whimper, she released his arm and walked away from the table, leaving her food behind. He gasped for breath as soon as she disappeared and clutched his wrist, knowing fully well that bruises would form the next day. What had he done wrong? He offered to see a movie, and she just exploded! Honestly, how did she expect to make friends if she acted like such an antisocial freak? The image of Cat accepting his confession seemed to fade further away because of this dumb, impossible scheme.

"No." He mumbled to himself. There was no way he was going to let this go so easily! People have broken through Jade's walls before, right? Well… not really. Now that he thought about it, only Cat and Beck have managed to earn her complete trust and love. Wait, that's it! Robbie grinned, springing up from his seat and rushing back to the group table. Much like before, he hurled himself into the seat, grinning like a madman at his newfound plan. "Hey guys!"

"Robbie!" Tori faked a smile, eyebrows raised as though silently asking why he was sitting with Jade beforehand.

"Beck!" Robbie exclaimed, pointing to the uncomfortable looking boy. "How did you get so close to Jade?"

An uncomfortable, dead silence overtook the table. In his head, Robbie cursed himself for being so out there with his curiosity and not trying to be subtle. Andre leaned towards Beck, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder as Tori simply backed away from the boy. Cat merely tilted her head to the side, staring at him with a strange calculating expression that Robbie didn't have the time to read. "Um… I just never gave up?" Beck's gaze was cold and questioning. Another thing Robbie just didn't have time to decipher. "I kept pressing and pressing and doing things that I slowly started to figure out she liked. Eventually she just gave in."

"Kind of like process of elimination!" Robbie beamed. "Use other means and exclude them as a solution if they don't work. Keep trying until you deem a solution as the proper response!"

Beck frowned, disappointment and slight anger creeping into his expressions. Robbie was too far gone to notice this though, so he didn't understand the warning behind the words when Beck said: "So you're using a scientific theory out on Jade?"

"Process of elimination isn't scientific," Robbie offhandedly claimed as he worked his way out of the chair. Smiling at the group, he waved goodbye and rushed off without another word. Much like at the beginning of lunch, he could feel their questioning stares without looking back.

* * *

Unfortunately, Robbie couldn't find Jade anywhere after she left lunch. It was almost as though she disappeared from the school, and he couldn't help but think that was becoming a common occurrence. Where would she go if she needed somewhere to hide? Somewhere no one would bother looking? For the life of him, he couldn't guess. How could he? After all, he barely knew her. "Dang it," Robbie grumbled. Looks like he would have to try again tomorrow.

Try what though? Beck claimed in order to become close to her, one would have to do things she likes and cease doing what she dislikes. So what did she like and dislike? How on earth would he remember her reactions to things? Oh well that was easy. Like all nerds, he kept an extra, blank notebook in his locker if he needed to. Rushing to his locker, he quickly entered the combination and grabbed the green notebook. On the first page, he labeled it: "_How to Date Cat"_. As he happily plopped down on the staircase, he opened up to the first pages and started writing:

_Jade does not like being asked out on Saturday nights. She will react angrily and stomp off if you do. _

Robbie paused. That was one thing on the dislike section. What about the likes? He snickered, because that one was pretty easy.

_She is in love with Beck. Probably wise not to bring that up for obvious reasons. She likes scissors to for some reason. Maybe as about that? She might like to talk about it. _

What else was there? Putting down "dark, creepy" things might be too vague. Horror movies maybe? Again, too vague. What if there were some she hated but some she absolutely loved? He groaned, banging his head against the lockers behind him. Okay, how on earth was he going to do this? Just sit down and ask her about these things? Sighing, he started writing down a new section besides the "likes" and "dislikes". Now it was time to fill out the "unknowns" that he was willing to try on her.

_Maybe get her some black or dead flowers. She might like fake blood. Get her to sing possibly?_

"Robbie?" Tori appeared above him, causing him to screech and close his notebook freakishly fast. The girl above him gave a tiny laugh in amusement.

"What's up?" Thank goodness his voice came out without any of the usual stuttering.

Tori's face became serious again as she sat down and sighed. "I think you should stay away from Jade for our sake."

"Why?" Robbie's eyebrows furrowed.

"Because!" Tori threw up her arms like that would explain everything. Realizing it didn't, she sighed and went into deeper reasoning. "I've wanted to be Jade's friend from the beginning, even after she splashed coffee all over my head. She just has one of those personalities that always hurts you but makes you wanting to come back every time. Frankly it's dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Robbie exclaimed.

"Yes!" Tori nodded. "I don't want to be mean about it because I really do like Jade. There have been so many times where I've longed for her to let me in and to be my friend. And every time I thought there was some progress, that we've finally reached that level of trust, she would say or do something that hurt me and degraded the moment we just had. It hurts a lot, and I just want to save you from it."

He sighed, leaning his head back as Tori, though reluctantly, sat on the ground with him. "I just…" He couldn't say this was all for Cat. Most likely Tori would tell Cat and Jade which would result in the plan not working. Scattering his brain for a response, he breathed in relief when he was able to form a slight truth. "I just feel bad. She's all alone, you know? Before she had Beck at least, but now it seems like she has no one. She was our friend even if she didn't want to admit it, and I want to show her we care."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Tori mumbled, but the flush on her cheeks revealed that she had the same process of thinking but ultimately failed. A newfound respect for Tori filled his heart as he recognized that Tori wasn't bashing on Jade but rather protecting him from the hurricane that she could leash on him. From this new perspective, Robbie now realized Tori wanted to be Jade's friend.

"Thank you." Robbie truthfully told her. But, no matter how cruel Jade became, he needed to pull through this. It was, after all, for the girl he was in love with.

* * *

Deciding to arrive a little late to school, Robbie was not disappointed when he saw Jade roaming the empty hallways during Sikowitz's class. He approached her with more confidence than he had yesterday and tapped on her shoulder. She turned to him, eyes blazing just like yesterday. Flinching only slightly, he handed her the warm cup of coffee in his hand. "I got you coffee!" Robbie blurted out. "It's black, and I didn't know how many sugars you wanted so I just brought a couple to let you pick."

As if proving a point, he reached into his pocket and thrusted eight small things of sugar into her hands. She raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow and backed away from him, as though suspicious of his motives. "What the fuck, Robbie?"

He blushed at the language. "Um… I figured you would want some-"

"NO!" She screeched, hurling the coffee and sugars to the tiled floor and glowering at him.

Robbie jumped back, careful not to stain his shoes with the coffee. Luckily none of the classrooms in use were nearby, so no teachers came out wondering what that loud scream was. "W-what? I thought you liked coffee!"

"You," she growled, grabbing the collar of his shirt and slamming him against the locker walls. "What are you planning?"

"Huh?!" Robbie exclaimed.

"Your ultimate motive." She stated angrily. "Did someone pay you to get close to me? To buy me coffee? Or is it some sick satisfaction for you to try and befriend the freak of the school?"

Her hands were shaking ever so slightly, and he couldn't help but stare directly into her green-blue eyes with absolute wonder. The fury and annoyance were all present but so was the heartbreak and fear behind his actions. Was she so distrusting that she deemed everyone had an ulterior motive for being nice to her? Behind the angry, powerful façade she was a scared, insecure girl that didn't want to get hurt?

Guilt overpowered him in that moment as he continued to stare into her. He had an ulterior motive: get close to Cat. Did that make everything she was screaming at him true? Yes, it did. He was the scum of the earth for simply wanting to befriend her in order to date her best friend. For abusing her emotions and friendship just to date the girl he loved. Cat wouldn't approve of this. She'd hate him for it. Heck, he hated him for it right now. "I… I…"

"Yeah," Jade released his collar, causing him to crumble to the floor. "That's what I thought. Never talk to me again."

She strutted off with what appeared to be confidence but Robbie knew better now. Wrapping his hands around his legs, he pondered over this for a moment. He grabbed his backpack and harshly opened it, digging out the green notebook and opening to the pages. Gripping the top of the page, he told himself to rip it out. Instead his hand wouldn't move and tears came to his eyes. Sighing to himself, he released the corner of the page and wiped his tears away. He dug around again for a pencil and stared at the first page of the notebook. With the tip of the eraser, he made the words "_How to Date Cat_" disappear. In their exact place, he rewrote:

_Befriending Jade West. _

* * *

Alice: Next time on _The Best Friend_: Robbie realizes why Jade was so angry when he mentioned going on out Saturday night.

Emily: I hope you guys liked it.

Alice: It will take a little longer for Cat to be jealous compared to Beck, but it is only because Beck used to date Jade, who is more closed off. But remember that Cat will be jealous.

Emily: Thanks for reading! I hope you guys liked the chapter.


	3. Chapter 2

Alice: Here's the new chapter!

Emily: I hope you all enjoy.

Alice: Sorry it's been a while. There have been snow days and power outages that have just made writing impossible.

Emily: But I'm back, so here is your next chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

How did one go about befriending Jade West, Robbie pondered during his math class. When the goal was dating Cat, he didn't see the complete process of _how _to earn her trust but the _result _of it. The result was her bragging about how cool Robbie was to Cat, so Robbie mostly talked about himself in the few times he tried talking to her. Well what if he asked her about herself? She wouldn't reply, Robbie immediately guessed. If it took someone as attractive and smooth and _not socially awkward_ so long to gain her trust, it would take him eons. He groaned, rubbing his forehead with the tips of his fingers and ignoring the glare his teacher sent. "What would she like…" Robbie grumbled to himself. He listed earlier a couple things, but he doubted giving her a pair of scissors would turn her over.

Then what?

"Did you hear?" a girl next to him giggled to her boyfriend. Why the teacher let couples sit together was beyond him, as they would only distract each other. "Jade West is putting on another freakish play this Saturday."

Saturday… Robbie's head flung up dramatically as he whirled around the girl, tapping her shoulder almost annoyingly. As she slowly turned around, he could clearly see her glare but it wasn't anything compared to Jade's, so he developed an immunity to glares. "Where did you hear that? Do you know the details, or are you just saying it on broad terms?"

The girl raised a questioning eyebrow but answered anyway. "I found a poster hanging up near the janitor's closet. Why?"

"Teacher!" Robbie shot up eagerly, his hand wavering in the air. The teacher, who was in the middle of explaining a test question, practically snarled at him, but he was once again comparing it too Jade's terrifying expressions. "Can I go to the bathroom? Please?"

She didn't bother answering. Instead she just "hmped" and waved her hand in a similar fashion. As he dashed out the door, he could hear the snickers of his fellow peers. Frankly he could care less as he's never had their respect. Although the fact once bothered him immensely, he started to slowly realize he just didn't care what they thought about him. After all, he now had great friends: Andre, Tori, Cat (hopefully a girlfriend soon), Beck, and (hopefully soon) Jade. He reached the janitor's closet in record time and tore the blood red poster off the wall.

Quizzically staring at it, his suspicions were confirmed when the times clearly stated this play would be performing Saturday night. He only bothered watching one play by her and that was because Cat was playing the main character. Tori managed to convince Andre to come that night, and Beck was required to go since it was expected from her boyfriend. "I'm an idiot," Robbie mumbled to himself when he remembered how he asked Jade to hang out the very night her play was being performed. Was that how it usually was for her? No recognition for her plays unless Tori took part in helping with the production?

Being overshadowed by someone else. Maybe he and Jade had more in common than he originally thought. His thoughts dissembled when a small whimper caressed his ears ever so gently. In fact he barely heard it at first. Furrowing his eyebrows, he leaned towards the sound which was coming from inside the janitor's closet. Another choked up sound was heard more clearly and he froze. Jade West was crying in a janitor's closet. Is this where she snuck off to? All those times Cat's claimed she had appointments over the two weeks, and she's been here?

As he reached for the doorknob, he hesitated. Would she really appreciate him trying to comfort her? The guy who until yesterday was trying to befriend her just for the sake of Cat? Besides it wouldn't be comfort to her; it would be someone catching her in a moment of vulnerability and taking advantage of it to learn her secrets. No, his hand dropped, it wasn't time to hold her as she cried yet. She would come to him if that was ever needed. As his hand gripped tighter around the slowly crinkling paper, a new idea arose from the depths of his brain on how to cheer her up.

He walked away from the door separating himself and the crying girl with a mournful heart.

* * *

Cat skipped happily down the halls with a cup of coffee in her hands. While she found the beverage to be repulsing in taste, she rather enjoyed the happiness it gave Jade. She made her way towards the closet, hell bent on reaching that area before something serious happened which she highly doubted. She briefly caught sight of Robbie walking in the opposite direction but paid him no mind. Right now Jade needed her more than ever. "Cat?" Beck approached her from behind, his appearance even sloppier than the day before.

She froze misstep and slowly turned around with a fierce glare. "Beck." She said snidely. It was a tone of voice she never once used on the boy she once considered a best friend, a brother. But things have changed since that breakup, and the three of them were definitely warping into such different shapes that she doubted they could ever fit together like they once did. For her friend's sake, she put up with him around a crowd but not in private.

"Is… is Jade okay?" Beck bit his bottom lip in concern. His brown eyes were so wide and confused that Cat briefly considered dropping her defenses and spilling how Jade was most certainly _not _okay; however, she did not because not even she knew that.

"I don't know Beck." She spat out his name. "What do you think?"

His eyes darkened, but it didn't scare her. It never has. "She hasn't talked to me, she hasn't looked at me—dammit Cat, she hasn't even been in the same room as me since what happened! I'm the only one she can rely on but she's-"

"And what great help you turned out to be," Cat whispered in such a deadly manner it shut mouth of Beck Oliver. "There is a reason why that door was never opened."

"I…" he looked like a kicked puppy. His shoulders sagged and his eyes were cast downward. It was pitiful. "I know."

"Good."

* * *

"And you want me to do this why?" Sinjin glared at his fellow nerd. At lunch Robbie practically flew to Sinjin's lonely self in the computer lab in order to request a website being made for Jade's upcoming play. It may still be Friday at noon but this was LA. If the website became popular enough, swarms of people would be able to attend Jade's gruesome creation. And, since LA was full of people who adored the dark and scary, he didn't doubt more people than her usual average would come. Problem was he wasn't the best at creating websites, and that's where Sinjin came in. When he pitched the idea to Sinjin though, he received a suspicious glare.

"Because!" Robbie attempted thinking at the top of his head. "You're in love with Jade, right?"

"Yes."

"And Beck's finally out of the picture right?" he continued with that train of thought, unsure of where it would lead but hopeful that Sinjin would still fall for it. Knowing the naïve boy, he would buy it hook, line, and sinker. "This is your chance to shine! Make sure Beck stays out of the picture. I've always thought he could do better than her, and now he has a chance. So if she falls in love with you, he won't have second thoughts about falling in love again."

Sinjin's eyes widened as he grinned. "So I'll make the website to have Jade fall in love with me and that will make Beck available to you? Okay, I'm in!"

"… Wait, what?" Robbie blinked, and in his mind, he just chanted _this is for Jade, this is for Jade, this is for Jade. _"Where did you get that from? Is that a common rumor or something? That I'm in love with Beck?" Is that why Cat kept rejecting him? Because she thought he was gay? Dang it, that would be hard to disprove. At Sinjin's "knowing" smile, Robbie just sighed. It wasn't too late to truly dive into method acting. "And I thought I kept it hidden so well."

"Don't worry buddy," Sinjin beamed, patting his back happily. "We can both get our true loves!"

Robbie smirked. "So you'll make the website?"

"Course! I'll have it up before the end of the day!"

"Cool. Mind if I use the copier? I have to make copies of my homework." He fluently lied, eyeing the crumpled up poster just barely sticking out of his backpack. Sinjin gladly nodded without any suspicion like before. As soon as Robbie walked behind Sinjin, he did a tiny happy dance in celebration. Man, he was almost as good as Beck!

* * *

Robbie stared at the tremendous pile of posters in both his hands and in the boxes he was carrying around in the shopping cart he randomly found in the street. Well, weirder things have happened to him. Like that whole "riding a cupcake" nonsense a few weeks back. Either way he patiently waited for the friend he texted to show up. Part of him debated asking Tori to help hang the posters, but he realized it would be of no use. After all, the last time Tori began involved in her production, it spiraled out of control. "Hey man." Andre pocketed his phone as he must have been looking at the directions. "Can we make this quick? A friend needs me later tonight."

"No problem!" Robbie handed him a box of posters. He threw up his hands in a way that "presented" the streets of L.A. and all its glory. Andre frowned, pulling out a single poster from the box and nearly dropped it when he saw the play title and playwright. "We, my dear friend Andre, are going to hang these up everywhere!"

"What?!" he exclaimed. "Why? Dude, what is it with this recent fascination with Jade freakin' West? Did you hear her sing or something?"

"Hear her what?" Robbie tilted his head to the side, mildly bewildered as Andre began blushing out of control, as though recalling a memory he tried to repress long ago. Oh well, it didn't matter. Right now he just needed to hang all these posters just before the major crowds started walking the streets. "Look, I feel bad that we kind of messed up two of her productions with the whole prom thing and hiring a crazy lady to fund her wishing well one. I realized we never really made up for it, and this is where we should start."

Andre sighed. "I guess you're right… let's do this."

They spent the remainder of the day hanging up posters and handing them out to anyone passing by. Robbie noticed quite a few times how often Andre checked his phone and typed back long messages with his face contorted in concern and almost pain. Normally he would have asked about it, but he had no time, as he wanted to finish hanging up the posters. To him, this would be his first good deed to Jade, and he didn't want it to be something as minor as handing her coffee, which he tried last time.

This time he wanted her to smile.

* * *

Jade licked the ice cream off her spoon, scowling when she realized the ice cream tub was empty. Cat was sitting beside her, rambling off and on about school and acting. Frankly Jade just zoned out but did pay attention to the things that appeared to truly upset her best friend. They were having another sleepover, and Jade managed to convince her to _not _film this one. The girl gave in quite easily this time, and for that Jade was thankful. "I saw Robbie today too." Cat blushed. "He looked really distracted. He didn't even talk to me all day!"

The thought of the boy made her insides howl in dislike, but she pushed it down. At first, she tolerated Robbie for Beck. Eventually she tolerated him for Cat as well. "Hasn't he asked you out a bunch of times?" Jade questionably asked. "If you like him so much just say yes. It can't hurt, right?"

"No!" Cat shook her head. "He's liked girls before. Remember Trina? And when he flirted a lot with Tori? I might just be another pretty face, and I want to make sure he likes me for me. If we start dating, and he finds another pretty girl, then what? I want to be sure."

"I think he likes you," Jade rubbed her arm soothingly. Cat nearly pouted, wanting to know why they were talking about her love life of all things. But, that was the problem with Jade. While they were best friends, Jade never saw her as an equal but as a child that needed protecting. Instead of sharing her problems with Cat and expressing the darker side of her emotions, Jade coddled and mothered Cat. Probably because she didn't want to burden her with what she was going through. It made Cat almost devastated to see her best friend think like that.

"You're phone's ringing," Cat mumbled, trying to change the subject. Jade frowned, stretching forward from her sitting position on the couch and grabbing her phone from the table. On the screen, a plethora of email alerts filled the small, pear shaped phone. As she scrolled through them, her eyes widened and her lips stretched in the happiest smile Cat's seen in weeks. "What is it?"

"M-my play," she sounded close to tears, "it's sold out!"

* * *

Alice: Next chapter: Beck pines over Jade, and Robbie goes to see Jade's play.

Emily: I hope you liked it!

Alice: Thanks for reading! I love you guys!


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